Church takes prayer to the web

Gillian Loney

CATHCART baptist church is reaching out to the southside and beyond – by embracing the power of social media.

The church is moving with the times and using Twitter for a new prayer evening, inviting anyone to tweet a dedication ahead of a special monthly meeting.

Requests shared on Twitter using the hashtag #cbcprayer will then be read out at the regular Prayer 1/1 session.

Reverend Derrick Watson told The Extra: ““Once a month we gather together for one hour, and any prayers which are hashtagged will be picked up – meaning anyone can share with us.

“There’s a 12 strong group attending just now, but anyone is welcome to come and join in”.

He continued: “Sometimes people just need prayer – but it can be difficult to ask for it. This is just an easy way for people to know that they’re being thought of.

“Prayer 1/1 is part of our ongoing commitment to develop – together with partner churches – creative and experimental approaches to prayer”.

The Cathcart reverend already uses the internet to discuss spirituality, having run a blog since arriving in the southside in 2011.

But the social media initiative means that anyone can share their personal prayers with the church – regardless of their location.

Now in its second month, the project was inspired by a recent Prayer 24/7 event, in which members of the congregation used the creative arts to convey their messages.

Rev Watson explained: “For Prayer 24/7, we had someone committed to praying each hour for a whole day, and there were resources available to them to draw, write or paint about what they wanted to pray for.

“Really, we’re just exploring ways in which prayer becomes less verbal, and more of something that involves the whole being”.

The next Prayer 1/1 meeting takes place on Thursday (January 10) at 7.30pm.